


Homecoming

by The_Doom_Dahlia



Category: Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe, Mean Girls (2004), Mean Girls - Richmond/Benjamin/Fey
Genre: F/F, F/M, Friendship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, airport food, heathers and mean girls take place at sort of the same time in this, modern au for Heathers, regina's trying to get better, so's her cousin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-14 15:47:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14772515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Doom_Dahlia/pseuds/The_Doom_Dahlia
Summary: Regina and her cousin help each other heal after the latter comes to live with the Georges upon the arrest of her father.





	Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

> this will hopefully be the a series of oneshots in this universe!

When Regina found out that her cousin had tried and failed to kill herself, she couldn't go to see her because there was so much to do: school, running her clique, and the upcoming Halloween party. But they were all done with a half-hearted power. She even took the day after she found out as a skip day and spent most of it crying for her poor cousin. The two of them had always been close, thick as thieves since the crib. They'd built each other up into titans, queens, triumphant, bold, and willing to tear to shreds anyone who dared to question them. But her cousin's suicide attempt scared her intensely. It was that fear, and her own bitterness towards her new protégé that pushed her into kissing Aaron and trying to reclaim him from Cady's slowly encroaching grip. 

When Regina found out that her cousin's school had been blown to bits, she was lying in a bed in St. Elizabeth's, newly fitted out with a spinal halo. She was on an intense number of painkillers, barely able to keep her head up. But as her mother read People Magazine in a chair beside her, she managed to look over to her with those soft, glazed blue eyes. She reached out one arm, gently gripping her mother's shoulder and making her look at her as the news from Ohio came out through tinny speakers attached to the TV connected to the off-white wall ahead of her. "Is-?" She began, but the medicine made it hard to speak. 

Her mother understood though and smiled gently, brushing down a few stray locks of blonde hair and wiping away a little hint of drool. "No one died kiddo, get some rest." She told her. For once, Regina listened to her mother and allowed herself to drift away on her hazy, lazy wave as 'Sunshine on my Shoulders' came through with great clarity from the radio beside her bed. She wanted nothing more than to knock it off, to leave this place that reeked of cleaning fluid and decay and stale Jell-O, but all she could do was fall asleep. 

When Regina found out that her cousin was coming to live with her family after the arrest of her mother's brother for things she couldn't think about without gagging awfully, she was sitting on her bed with Gretchen and Karen. She'd started to make amends for how badly she'd treated them both over the last few years and considered it a minor miracle that they were willing to hang out with her still. Gretchen was talking about some trip to Korea her mother had taken last year while Karen attempted to string the fairy lights she'd bought from IKEA that morning around the spinal halo's surface. Mrs. George came in as Gretchen was talking about how her mother got food poisoning after eating something called balut while out on a date ('which was so not fetch', she explained). 

"Hi girls." Mrs. George cooed, waving. "Y'all need anything? Snacks? Drinks?" She asked. When the girls said no, her voice softened. "Gretchen, do you and Karen mind leavin' for a sec while I talk to Gina?" She asked. 

"Sure, Mrs. George. C'mon Karen, let's get some water." Gretchen said, standing up and dusting off her skirt. 

"But I'm not thirsty." Karen said, voice deadpan as she tilted her head in confusion. Instead of arguing with her Gretchen took her hand and pulled her out of the room, shutting the door behind her. 

Mrs. George sat on Regina's bed with her, folding her hands and taking a deep breath. "So, your cousin's gonna be staying with us from now on." She told her. "This whole year's been really hard on both of you, so I need you to promise to help her get used to North Shore and the town and everything. Can you do that, honey?" 

Regina nodded as much as the spinal halo would allow. "Of course, mom." She said, voice sincere. She'd always help her cousin, no matter what. They were just like that. No request was too much. 

Mrs. George smiled and hugged her daughter carefully. "God love ya, you and your friends keep me young." She said and pinched her cheek with all the tender force of a grandmother. "She'll be comin' down on Wednesday and we'll pick her up from the airport and go get Taco Bell." 

Regina almost objected, still on a diet, but decided to let it go. For occasions like this, diets could be forgotten. 

The next week, Regina and her mother sat in the Chicago Midway Airport waiting for their new housemate to arrive. Her mother had been a little too liberal with the glitter on the 'WELCOME' sign, topped with croquet mallets and balls, and she could almost taste the grittiness of it in the Vanilla Coolata she'd gotten from the Dunkin Donuts. Her mother, the sign nestled at her feet like a pup at the feet of its owner, bearhugged a large tin of caramel corn like she'd held Regina when she was only a toddler. It was the only thing she ever got at the airport when they came there, as prone to food poisoning as she was. 

Suddenly, there was a loud bell chime from the crowd of newly arrived tourists and jetlagged locals spilling out from a recently landed liner. It kept ringing, the owner unable to whistle or speak, as Regina leapt to her feet, regretting it a little as she teetered on her feet like a drunk from the weight of the spinal halo. But she couldn't bring herself to care, following the bell noise with her mother close behind her. When she found the source, she leapt into her arms and hugged her with force, trying to make up for all the time she'd lost with her over the last few months. She smelled like vanilla and compressed air and home. But most of all, she smelled like corn nuts. 

Resting her hands on Heather's shoulders, she pulled back to look her cousin in the eyes. There was less of a glimmer in Heather's eyes than there had been the last time they'd seen each other, but there was less of a glimmer in Regina's eyes too. She couldn't blame her for that. 

So instead, she smiled as her mother pulled them both in for a big hug, whispering "Welcome home, Heather." to her and receiving a clumsy but loving bump against her shoulder in response since her hands were full. Now wasn't the time for catching up. 

It was alright. Now Heather and Regina had all the time in the world to spend together.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!


End file.
